This Bharwan Mirchi, a North-Indian style stuffed chilli curry focuses on the flavour of chilli and not on its heat alone. In short, a pakora/fritter like chickpea flour batter is stuffed inside the chilli and served over a lush spiced sauce perfect for eating with rotis/flatbreads.
Much as I enjoy spices, I’m not a fan of food that’s needlessly spicy. Nobody needs their tongues on fire and its never pleasant to have a heartburn. Don’t feel compelled to simply tone down heat, the right amount adds balance in dishes. It is one of the big reasons I love this dish.
Recommended Chillis
This North-Indian style Bharwan mirchi (stuffed chilli curry) relies on the flavour of the chilli to shine. The ones I used here are home-grown, mildly spiced. Depending on your spice tolerance, pick a chilli/pepper that works best for you. Padron/de-seeded jalapeño or even those uber cute multi-colour peppers you can get at the market.
Toast the besan/chickpea flour until really nutty and fragrant. The combination of fresh coconut and sourness from the dry mango powder really stand out. Meanwhile, take the time to get good colour on the chilli so it packs in the flavour and the stuffing cooks through. For the sauce/curry base, deeply caramelise the tomato paste – I often find this is something people don’t seem to take enough time to do. You want to develop a deep colour on the paste and really cook it out.
Eat your Bharwan Mirchi (stuffed chilli curry) with rotis/flatbreads. However, they are also great as an accompaniment to a simple steamed rice and dal meal with a dollop of yogurt.
Bharwan Mirchi Stuffed Chilli
Ingredients
The Chilli Stuffing
- 8-10 Whole Chillies (slit in the middle and de-seeded)
- 1 cup Besan/Chickpea/Gram Flour
- 2 tbsp Fresh Grated Coconut
- 1 pinch Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Seeds (toasted and roughly pounded)
- ¼ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup Water (as required)
The Sauce/Curry
- 1 cup Red Onion (finely chopped)
- ½ tsp Garlic (finely minced)
- ½ tsp Ginger (finely minced)
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 2 tbsp Ghee/Vegetable/Canola oil (use oil if vegan)
- ¼ tsp Mustard Seeds
- ¼ tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- ½ tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder
- ½ tsp Coriander/Dhania Powder
- ½ cup Hot Water
- ¼ tsp Sugar (to balance)
- Salt (to taste)
Instructions
- In a dry pan, toast the coriander seeds until fragrant. Transfer to mortar pestle and crush roughly. To the same dry pan, add the besan/chickpea flour and toast on a low flame until nutty, fragrant and develops just a hint of colour. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add all the remaining stuffing ingredients except water.
- Add the water in batches (you might not need it all) to make a thick paste/batter consistency (not runny). You want it to be able to stay within the stuffed chilli.
- Slit the chillies in the middle leaving the top and bottom still connected. De-seed completely. Add the besan flour mix and stuff into the opening.
- In a pan, heat half the ghee/oil (1 tbsp) and add the chillies skin side down and let them fry well. You want to sear them on all sides until they develop a nice golden charred crust. The steam generated also helps to cook the besan flour batter inside them. Set aside.
- In the same pan, add the remaining ghee. Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the onions and fry until their edges start to turn golden.
- Add the ginger and garlic and fry them until fragrant and no longer smell raw. Add the chilli, coriander and cumin powders and fry for a bit without burning on low heat. Add the tomato paste and let it caramelise well. Dont rush this step, cooking out the tomato paste adds a lot of flavour to the dish.
- Adjust the salt and sugar till you get a well balanced sauce. Add the hot water and mix nicely. Add the chillies on top of the sauce and cover and let it cook on low heat for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Serve hot with flatbreads or as a side with a simple steamed rice and dal.
Notes
For other delicious recipes from the blog, click here. If you make this recipe and love it, let me know in the comments below. If you are sharing on Instagram, please do tag me @rupalbhatikar.
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